Sharpening stones

[Seafarer]

I need a stone to sharpen a few knives

What do I need to know

[tomartomau]

I will walk you through it:)

I am anal retentive about my knife sharpening. This setup is foolproof and very affordable.

First of all purchase a faux Edge Pro (The real one costs hundreds and this one is great, but it infringes on his copyright though). This is an example of one but try and get one around 15-18 delivered.

/>http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Kitchen-Knife-Sharpener-System-Fix-angle-Sharpening-Frame-4-Sharpener-Stones-/350666006852?pt=AU_Cutlery&hash=item51a552a144&_uhb=1#ht_6853wt_1037

and purchase some stones from Congress;

/>http://www.congresstools.com/catalog/categories/get-category/id/72

The sharpening system comes in a case that you can store away.

Here is a good video of how to set up ans use the system.

/>http://www.edgeproinc.com/sharpening-Tips-11.html

Additionally purchase an angle cube, this will allow you to set up the angle correctly.

The angle cube is probably the most expensive component.

/>http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AngleCube-DIGITAL-ANGLE-GAUGE-LEVEL-SENSOR-BEVEL-GUAGE-/190562931808?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c5e6f9460#ht_1620wt_1037

Cheers and good luck

Tony

[Gloomy Samurai]

I am a bit over the top about knives as well, but I reckon it is the blunt ones that will hurt you the most.

There is a knack to this but you can with a bit of practice get the angles correct, or get the devices recommended above. Start on the rougher side of the stone if the edge is gone completely and then finish on the finer side. Use kerosene or a light oil on the stone. You can get a special honing oil but kerosene is fine.

Like most things, you get what you pay for so it is worth getting a good quality stone (make sure its a knife stone and not an axe stone of something like that). This goes for knives as well, a good knife will hold its edge longer

Keep your edge with a regular touch using a good steel. Remember though, you cannot sharpen a knife with a steel, only keep it there. Once the edge goes, you will have to put it on the stone.

Hope that was some help

Andrew

[Seiran]

Mate I was a chef for 15 years before turning to my new career. Chef's are very pedantic about keeping knives nice and sharp as they are the tools of our trade. When I was an apprentice I had this hard core Dutch head chef who used to check my knives every week to make sure they were sharp. If he couldn't use the knife as a razor to take hair straight off his arm he would give me a bollocking and kick me out of the kitchen. Luckily for me I used to work one day a week at a butchers and the boys there were very good trainers at sharpening knives. Suffice to say I got really, really good and sharpening knives

Pay the little bit extra and get yourself a diamond sharpening stone. Also get yourself a good sharpening steel, which can be a plain steel or a diamond steel.

With a diamond stone you will only need to give the knife half a dozen strokes on each side of the knife and it will be ready for the sharpening steel. Warning though - diamond stones take a lot more metal off than a plain stone which is why they work much quicker.

Hold the knife at your desired angle and make sure you use the same angle for both sides. To keep my old psycho head chef happy I used to sharpen my knives flat on the stone, which makes an incredible sharp edge, but also a brittle edge that gets blunt and damaged quickly. Preferably you want to hold the knife at about a 20- 30 degree angle from flat on the stone.

Use a light oil, water, lemon juice, detergent or any other fluid to keep the stone lubricated. The stone you purchased will likely have a recommended lubricant.

With a diamond stone you want to start at the heel of the knife and in nice, light even strokes slide the knife over the stone ending at the point (with the stone side on in front of you). Give it a few strokes on one side then flip the knife and do the same amount of strokes on the other side.

Then finish the knife with a good sharpening on the steel. I usually go for about 100 strokes to finish the knife.

[Luc53]

Definitely go with the diamond stone.

Have had one for years & don't bother with the others.

[BassTracker]

The longie answers are all above the "shortie" answer would be to get someone like these guys to do it for you every know and then http://www.knifedoctor.com.au/Services.html

Great info above fellas thanks

[tomartomau]

I have sharpened woodworking tools and knifes over the years, I have sharpened using traditional methods using stones (both whetstones and diamond stones [diamond stones do not require flattening].

To be honest the factors and goal of sharpening a knife depends on a few key features;

The hardness of the steel (RC)

The use of the knife

to obtain a consistent edge throughout the blade length and a micro bevel if required

The reason I like the the above system is that;

it is inexpensive

it does not heat up the metal and damage the steel (like motorized sharpening systems)

and most importantly it applies a consistent edge/angle, removing burrs and you can do a number of knives at exactly the same angle. You can re profile (if required) and touch up to the exact same angle as previously used the time before... and they are sharp.

I usually set my knives to a 19 degree angle.

I do however, finish off my knives on a steel, however most of the burr is removed if sharpened properly.

In saying this, a master knife sharpener could achieve a consistent result over the entire range of the blade, a lesser person like myself could not. Using the jig I have no doubt on achieving a great result without outlaying a ton of money.

A diamond stone (I remember when I bought mine [EziLap] a number of years ago was around the $70.00.